Cable operators have deployed high-speed data services on cable television systems including, among other services, Internet service and high speed video service. Internet service may be supported by a cable modem that allows a computer to communicate over an ordinary cable TV network Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) physical plant. A Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) connects the cable TV network to a data network, such as the Internet. The Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is one of the cable modem standards used for transferring data over the cable TV network. Video service may be provided over the same physical plant, but instead of the cable plant being connected to a cable modem in the customer premises, the cable plant is instead coupled to a set-top-box that supplies a video signal to, e.g., a television set.
Increasing demand for cable data services requires additional CMTS processing capacity and features. This can be prohibitively expensive since each CMTS provides routing, DOCSIS Media Access Control (MAC) processing, downstream signal modulation and upstream signal demodulation.